The Insider Pick:

We don't give our paper towel holders enough thought considering that we use them on a daily basis. You don't need anything fancy for this purpose, of course, but if you're just using any old inexpensive paper towel holder, it might be time for an upgrade.

You know when you go to pull a paper towel off the roll with one hand and the entire thing collapses because the holder is too lightweight? Or you end up unraveling half of the roll because you can't get a close enough grip? A good paper towel holder should be secure enough to prevent both of those scenarios, allowing you to tear away to your heart's content.

If you prefer a horizontal paper towel holder that you can mount on the wall or hang over a cabinet or drawer, there are options for you, too. Overall, the picks in this article are made with quality materials and design features that facilitate an easy-rip experience.

After all, you shouldn't really have to think about your paper towel holder.

The best paper towel holder overall

OXO is known for elevating everyday staples with a superior user experience — because you don't want to dwell on the items you use over and over again. You just want them to work.

The brand's Good Grips SimplyTear Paper Towel Holder is a no-fuss vertical paper towel stand with a brushed stainless steel finish that goes with most kitchen fixtures. A spring-loaded appendage lets you tear a single sheet of paper towel with one hand. There's a weighted base to keep the entire thing from tipping over when you pull.

The OXO paper towel holder is highly rated, with over 2,000 customer reviews on Amazon and a 4.5 rating. It's also been featured by New York Magazine's The Strategist and the review website AweBtoKnow.

"This Oxo Good Grips holder works beautifully requiring no touching of the towels or the holder in order to tear off a towel [...] I particularly like the look of this holder and how little space its vertical design takes up in our small kitchen. It's also weighty enough that it doesn't tip or wobble when I tear off a towel," writes a fan.

Pros: Able to tear with one hand, looks good on the counter, spring-loaded arm helps hold towels in place, weighted base

Cons: Reviewers say you need two hands as you get closer to the end of the roll

The best wall-mounted paper towel holder

Another option if you don't have a lot of counter space is to choose a paper towel holder that can be hung up on the wall. The SimpleHuman Wall Mount Paper Towel Holder can be mounted vertically or horizontally under a cabinet or above the counter for easy access.

A spring-loaded ring at the base of the cylinder that holds the roll makes it easy to pull one or two sheets off at a time, rather than unraveling half of it at once, which tends to happen often with less sophisticated holders. There's also what the brand calls a "quick release knob" to facilitate changing out for a fresh a fresh roll.

"I know it seems odd to be excited about a paper towel rack, but this is a great design," says one reviewer. "It is quick and easy to change rolls, it works with paper towel rolls that vary slightly in length, and best of all, it keeps just the right tension on the roll so you can pull off as many as you want with one hand without tearing them, and then just snap them off at a perforation without having any more towels unroll."

Pros: Can be mounted vertically or horizontally, spring ring prevents you from ripping too many towels off at once, clean stainless steel look

Cons: Reviewers say the screws that come in the package won't work with every type of cabinet

The best marble paper towel holder

I didn't think a paper towel holder could be considered "cult," but since the Fox Run 3831 Marble Paper Towel Holder has 3,400+ reviews on Amazon, I stand corrected. It's probably due to the fact that this thing is about as elegant as a paper towel holder can be: It's basically a marble pillar that happens to be slim enough to support a roll of paper towels.

But it turns out to be pretty functional as well. In an Amazon review quoted by The Strategist, a shopper points out, "being marble it also is quite heavy and gives the paper-towel roll a strong, solid base. This makes it easier to rip these off, and much more difficult to accidentally knock them over because the weight of the marble is now adding stability."

Made of 100% genuine marble, it's high-quality, easy to clean, and simply pretty. As the product description points out, the grain differs slightly between each holder since its made of a naturally occurring material, which can be a pro or a con depending on how much you like the look of the one in the photo.

Pros: Elegant design, weight of the marble is effective at facilitating easy tearing

Cons: Might need two hands to tear off only one sheet, especially near the bottom of the roll

The best affordable paper towel holder

If you're looking to save some cash on an attractive receptacle for your paper towels, consider the Marble and Beechwood Paper Towel Holder by Threshold at Target. A sturdy faux marble base provides stability, while the marble and beechwood cylinder keep the roll in place.

One great thing about this holder is that it looks just as good with nothing on it as it does when you've placed a roll on the stand. If you don't love the two materials together, it's worth keeping in mind that you won't be able to see the beechwood much, if at all, with a paper towel roll in the way, since that part is focused on the center of the pole.

It has 44 reviews on the Target website and a 4-star rating out of 5. A few shoppers noted that the holder was broken when it arrived in the mail, but that they were able to return it for a new one easily thanks to Target's exceptional customer service.

"Very classy looking with the marble and it is heavy enough that I can pull a paper towel off the roll without having the holder move which is very nice," says one 5-star reviewer. "Great addition to my kitchen!"

The best horizontal paper towel holder

For those with limited counter space who don't want to mount anything semi-permanently on the walls, the Spectrum Diversified Over the Cabinet Paper Towel Holder is the perfect solution. It simply slides over the top of any conventionally-sized cabinet door or drawer and fits any sized paper towel roll.

The holder is backed with a padded foam material designed to guard your surfaces from scrapes and scratches in case it slides around. The only major downside, which the brand itself acknowledges in the product description, is that it may prevent you from completely closing the structure it's attached to depending on the size of the cabinet or drawer.

Overall, it comes highly rated, with more than 1,000 Amazon reviews and a 4.4 rating, and was also featured by The Strategist.

"I live in an apartment so I am very limited when it comes to counter space, I also can't screw things into the cabinets or walls," says one fan. "So having my paper towels hanging on the inside of my cabinet door below the sink has eliminated them taking up precious counter space."

Pros: No nails or screws required, slides over cabinets or drawers, padded to protect furniture

Check out our guide to the best paper towels

Paper towels are one of the most underappreciated commodities of modern life. they help out with everything from kitchen cleaning to car washing to personal hygiene to baby care. You might not think about them often, but you'd miss them if they were gone.

For while all paper towels are made from pulped wood and are designed to be absorbent, durable, and disposable, they're not all identical. We've assembled a lineup of great paper towels that differ based on size, feel, production method, cost, and more. But don't worry, any of these paper towels will help you clean up any coffee spill.

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